Summary 13: The Death Knell Tolls

From a fair distance, Glaive continued to provoke the savage beast as I remained in its close proximity. Luckily for me, Anzak was far more interested in the piece of meat I had provided him. When his meal was done, he began to clutch his head in discomfort; I took that moment to fetch my little black book in order to recover my prized possession, an illustration of Lavinia. I insisted that Anzak hold on to it until we got him back home. Fearing that he may feast upon me for having kept such a treasure, he opted to enter a trance of sorts, definitely an effect I had hoped for. With Anzak preoccupied, Glaive took the opportunity to voice out his disapproval.

Glaive: “Gustave… What in the bloody hell are ye doing? Why he be not dead yet? Both you and I know t’is the logical thing te do”.

He followed up with several other valid points, but I would have none of it; I made a promise… and I am a man of my word. Lavinia wanted him alive, and I have opted to do all I can to grant her wish, no matter what the cost. I already knew he would not survive the trip, a part of me wished that fate would come upon him, but I also knew my efforts would pay dividends… or cripple me beyond repair. I assured Glaive that I would take full responsibility for Anzak’s actions in the days to come; he reluctantly agreed. We enjoyed a moment of peace, but only for a moment. Anzak stuffed the illustration in his pocket and demanded that a new craving be satisfied. I reluctantly escorted him to his fallen comrades, the uninfected ones of course, and watched in disgust as he feasted upon the dead.

A moment later, emerging from the cave was Garland, flanked by Crimson and the woman in red. The three stooges met up with each other, but “Red” had her sights on yours truly, naturally. Just one problem, her weapons, yes weapons with an “s”, were drawn and made her approach towards Anzak. She spoke out to me.

Red: “What’s wrong boy… Don’t have the balls to do him in, allow me then”.

She was quite serious and also looked to have the power of three Anzaks, only a bloody fool would place himself in between the two. Unfortunately, the heart can play tricks on oneself. And then, before I knew it, I found myself between an arch rival and his killer, a killer with a very…, very sharp blade, at MY throat. I then attempted to soften the blow by introducing myself. Oddly enough, she wasn’t all that interested, pity. Before I spoke another word, Captain Garland came to my rescue. Captain Harliss of the Kraken’s Society was her name and she wanted to spill blood…, Vanderboren blood. Apparently, she had sent a lackey to the Vanderboren manor to dispose of all who were within, in hopes to put an end to the traitorous Vanthus. Holding Anzak back with all of my might, Garland had successfully negotiated for Lavinia’s life, convincing her that Vanthus would never retreat to his home. Unfortunately, her minion was on route and would arrive to his destination within five days time. In return for a free passage near Sasserine, and our silence, she supplied us with authentic orders to disengage the “Vanderboren Mission”. She also supplied us with an earring as further proof. I could do nothing but give Garland the sincerest of “Thumb’s Up” for that brilliant display of diplomacy.

The others have opted to take a day to recover the Sea Wyvern and to make it sea worthy. I would have much preferred to depart as quickly as possible, but I was in no position to make further demands as I wished to place us all in danger by taking Anzak with us. I helped out in any way I could, but I found myself in charge of gathering Anzak’s food supply, delightful… While salvaging several trinkets that have been left on the beach, I couldn’t help but notice something strange in Captain’s Harliss’ demeanour. I approached her and showed slight concern. She insisted that all was well, but I begged to differ. Upon her left hand, a grey discoloration.

Captain’s Harliss: “Damn it… I’m I to loose my mind…, like the others?”

Crimson: “Really…”.

Again, that the bloody stalker managed to sneak up on me. How she does it, I’ll never know. Crimson then pulled out a wand and tapped Anzak on the shoulder. Before our very eyes, Anzak had looked much better. A boost in intelligence had done him some good. I followed up with a potion Garland had given me after my revival, and proved to be quite beneficial. Anzak had been fully restored. This unfortunately, left me quite uncomfortable. A cure may have been found, he will survive, whom… will Lavinia… choose…? Not only that, Guildenstern was still holding the illustration at that moment. Now in a clear state of mind, he began to piece a few things together, and then shifted his gaze upon me. Just then, I had opted to take a few casual steps away from that raving lunatic. Fortunately for me, the wand’s magic had faded before he got a chance to pounce on me, leaving him in a mid savage state.

The Gansworth’s elected that Captain Harliss pilot the Sea Wyvern out of the rocky infested waters, and was quite successful. She was then transferred to the faster ship, the Nixie. Joining her was Anzak and I, Garland and a few of his men. Following closely behind was the Sea Wyvern, captained by Glaive and flanked by Crimson and a skeleton crew. Anzak was disarmed and placed in the hold as a safely precaution. My job was to feed him, watch over him and more than likely, terminate him. As I sat on that chair down below, I grasped my holy symbol and for once in my life, elected to… believe… I have been granted a second chance at life, yet, I do not feel like the person I once was. I feel…, different. The old me would have killed him the moment I laid eyes upon him. “He was infected, I had no choice”, no bluff required, the perfect scenario. She would have understood. But, she has found the good… in me… But…, “Good Guy’s” always finish last…, what am I doing? I began to pray, I kid you not. I prayed for Lavinia’s safety, I prayed for an uneventful journey and strangely enough, I prayed for Anzak. Most of all, I prayed that Lavinia truly seeked… closure. If that was not the case, I prayed that I be granted the strength to… go on… without her.

The first day had gone smoothly, but the second was not to be as forgiving. Anzak had been reduced to a near comatose state. His body began to change and was no longer able to speak a single word. All he could do is stare at that picture, shedding tears of sadness. “That time” was nearly upon him. Meanwhile, Captain Glaive had opted to stick to the coastline as he slowly began to loose ground. Perhaps a wise manoeuvre for the inexperienced Captain, wouldn’t want to get lost at sea. On day three, the Sea Wyvern could no longer be seen; it was quite obvious that they would be arriving a few days late. As for Anzak, no change, and still no change when we arrived on day four. Off in the distance, the manor was still very much intact and Anzak was… saved. Perhaps it was the picture that saved him, probably the potion. Captain Harliss dared not enter the city but opted to wait for a cure before she returned home. Personally, my first instinct was to rush over to Lavinia, but Anzak had to be cared for. I therefore rushed him over to the Temple of Fharlanghn while Garland made his way to the manor with the order to disengage.

The cleric there had never seen such and illness and proceeded to remove the disease. When that failed to accomplish anything, I mentioned the potion I had given him. She then proceeded to restore his frame of mind and Anzak was as good as new. Assuming the Remove Disease enchantment discontinued the disease’s progression, I offered the lass a few coin I had pillaged from the “Savage Tide” victims as payment, she kindly accepted. And there I was again, placed in an awkward position.

Anzak (smiling sinisterly): “Why thank you… Gustave, you have been… most kind”.

Gustave (frightened): “What are… friends for eh, good buddy… good pal… Why don’t we go see if your wife is well shall we…”.

Anzak: “Lets”.

Just as we exited the temple, a familiar face. Garland was making his way towards us at a very rapid pace, bleeding from head to toe.

Garland: “BULLYWUG’S, in the manor”.

He rushed into the temple seeking medical aid. I for one did not know what “Ballywig” was, but Anzak had a better idea what he was taking about. Anzak rushed over to a nearby commoner, heisted his pitchfork and made a mad dash towards the manor. Feeling sorry for the poor lad shaking in his boots, I threw a few gold coins to the poor boy, apologized and made a desperate attempt to keep up with the raging buffoon. Either he was quick, or I was too slow. Half way there, Garland had caught up to me and whisked by me.

Garland: “Come on, stop looking at the girls and get those knees in the air…”.

By the time I had arrived at the manor, Anzak was down and bleeding, next to a dead froglike creature in robes. Garland, on the other hand, was fending off a much larger one, must have been those “Ballywig” things he mentioned. Garland landed two bone-crushing blows as the apparent “King Ballywig” fell to one knee. I then dashed in and pierced the King in the back, ending his reign of terror. I took the opportunity stop Anzak’s bleeding and noticed that Garland had sustained a significant wound of his own. The area reeked of “Ballywig” as we heard several others making their approach. Garland made his way to the staircase, this unfortunately triggered their ambush. One with a mace made her way towards Garland as two others had locked their eyes in my direction. Luckily for me, Garland caught one off guard during his charge; dealing a nasty wound to an unarmed “Ballywig”. That left me to deal with the one wielding a rapier. He and I shared the same battle strategy placing our blades in front of us as shields. I lashed out once to no avail and then initiated “The manoeuvre”. I attempted to get behind him giving him an opportunity to strike me in the process. Knowing full well that I am a difficult target to tag when on the move, he failed to seize the opportunity leaving me with a large opening in his defences. I, on the other hand, did not miss and delivered a fatal blow. I then shifted my gaze towards Garland, and his back at me with a grin on his face, as the two he was combating were no more. The staircase stood before us and blocking its path was another, wielding a mace and a wand. But this one spoke out to us.

Bua Gorg: “So you are the blood that has been promised to us…”.

Garland made another attempt to call out Harliss’ associate to no avail.

Bua Gorg: “Who is brave enough to face me? Die, and you shall serve Dagon, ruler of the sea, in all his greatness.

Knowing full well that he had a trick up his sleeve, I had no choice but to engage him and without hesitation. Just as I lashed out at him, a force attempted to hold me back. At that point, all I could think of was… Lavinia. And with that single though, I was able to suppress the “Ballywig” control and… missed. In retaliation, he laid a hand upon my face and unleashed his vile magiks. Never in my life have I felt such pain. Garland then charged up and dealt a minor wound. I took that opportunity to perform “The Manoeuvre”, yet he did not fall for it. I stabbed him for another minor wound nonetheless. Again, he put his magiks to use and brought into existence two demonic creatures. Both flanking Garland, striking three times each and find their mark on several attempts. Garland was loosing it fast. He retaliated with a near fatal blow as I failed to bring an end to the “Ballywig”. The three unleashed their fury upon Garland and knocked him out cold. It was now or never, I had opted to lower my defences in order to attempt a full scale attack, a wise decision as it was enough silence the “Ballywig” leaving me with two “Eye Ball” things. Luckily for me I must have looked quite imposing; they opted to withdraw as they vanished into thin air. Again, I was able to quickly stop Garland’s bleeding and located the secret document and earring. I quickly rushed over to Lavinia’s chambers and prepared for the worst. I heard crying, she was alive; I opened the door without hesitation.

Lavinia: Gustave…

Drevorak: Easy little fella, one false move and she dies…

Sitting in a chair and bound was an unharmed Lavinia, a Half-Orc standing next to her with a scimitar at her throat. I slowly lowered my weapon to the ground while showing a scroll in the other hand. I took the liberty in kicking the sword to the corner of the room in hopes to resolve the situation diplomatically.

Gustave: I come to you with a message from Captain Harliss, we made an agreement to spare the girl, I kid you not, I am unarmed.

Drevorak: I am not fool, boy, t’is a fake…

Gustave: Fair enough, in my other hand, one of her earrings, as proof…

Drevorak: Alright, toss’em, carefully like…

Drevorak: Well, today is indeed your lucky day. In the corner, now, and on your knees.

I had no intention to peruse the matter further, I let him walk and then, he was no more.

Lavinia (smiling): Gustave…, I knew it would be you… walking though that door…

The time had finally come, the moment of truth, the moment I’ve longed for, the moment I feared most. Have done enough… to earn the right to see that smile for a lifetime, or will it be… the last. I was there to comfort you when Anzak was apprehended for the very first time. Us, of all people, spent the entire night dancing at your own wedding. That painting, you were so overjoyed. When catastrophe surrounded you, I made sure to be there. I remember our trip to the temple, we looked to gods for answers; you felt better. That night I made the ever so complex warm milk with honey, it didn’t taste all that good, but you enjoyed it. I remember the day we spoke about what Glaive had mentioned about… us. Yes, I remember it well; you were working so hard on those charts the very next day, during that time, I had successfully prepared your favourite meal to perfection. We went out later that same eve, I… loved it. Your father’s sword, you used it to free me from death. You were so happy when I got it back for you. All of this, because you deserve it. I made my way to the chair in order to release her hold, I couldn’t stop trembling. The moment she was free, she jumped into my arms.

Lavinia (smiling): Oh Gustave…

She… kissed me, on the lips, and didn’t stop, for a couple of seconds. She caught me flat-footed I say, there was little I could do… and she grappled me good. I had no choice but to wait until she broke the hold she had on me. It was magnificent.

Lavinia (whispering): Thank you.

Gustave (smiling): It’s nice to see you again.

Lavinia (smiling): Gustave… How do you feel?

Gustave (worried): I feel… fine.

Lavinia (worried): Gustave, is something wrong.

Gustave (worried): No, but… I’ve something to show you… downstairs.

I took her by the hand and lead her to the top of the staircase. There, in plain sight, was Anzak. She broke down in tears and remained silent. Much to my surprise, I sensed much confusion in her; those were not tears of joy. We found Butler in the living room, slain. Poor lad, he was a good man. I also found a few healing potions, I used one to revive Garland. I thanked him personally for his assistance and bravery, as did Lavinia. As for Anzak, I left his revival in Lavinia’s hands. She insisted that he remain in his current state for the moment. With Garland’s aid, we got Anzak into one of the bedrooms. The seamen then insisted that he take his leave to provide Captain Harliss with a cure to her ailment. We would meet again when Glaive and Crimson made their arrival, in six or seven days, maybe more... After alerting the authorities and taking good care of poor Butler, I suggested that we go for a walk, perhaps do a little shopping, grab a bite to eat; there was much to talk about. She eagerly accepted. She was very quiet that day, understandable, a lot has happened. But when we got back to the manor later that eve, well…, let’s just say she opened up a little. She closed the front door and paused a moment.

Lavinia: Gustave… I’ve a confession to make. A part of me… didn’t want Anzak… to come back. I looked at him and felt… … nothing. I look at him, and… I feel almost… sick to my stomach. Glaive was right; I should have never married him.

She turned to face me and gave me that look, a look I’ve not seen in five years.

Lavinia: It should have been you all along… Gustave.

Gustave (smiling): Lavinia… never have I stopped… loving you.

Again, we engaged in a passionate embrace. She then took me by the hand and led me to her quarters. The rest is quite self-explanatory; let’s just say we didn’t get much sleep. I awoke the next morning to a beautiful face, definitely a nice change as of late. Again, we took a moment to enjoy each other’s company and then began to discuss our next dilemma shortly thereafter. In the room just next to us, laid an unconscious Anzak. Still unwilling to revive him just yet, we came to the conclusion that the right thing to do would be to simply tell him the truth. Yes, it would be dangerous, but it was the right thing to do. Worst-case scenario, a threat, we will charge him for the murder of Lavinia’s parents. It would be in his best interest to comply. After breakfast, I decided to go check up on “Sleeping Ugly” only to witness something quite disturbing. The grey complexion had returned over night and his wounds have not healed. We then summoned a high-ranking cleric in an attempt to save him, but nothing could be done. I even had a two messages sent to his sister Elena, no reply to either one. I then had one sent to the other Harbinger, the cute one, Pellegri I believe her name was, and again no reply. We were running out of options fast. We could not allow this infliction to spread. With Garland’s consent, we all agreed that it would be best to put him out. We brought him to Parrot Island and through him down the pit he ironically trapped us into a little while back. The sixty-foot drop was more than enough to confirm the deed, a deed that will be a little hard to live with. Oddly enough though, his body did not transform, nor did it explode. It would seem that there is more to this “Savage Tide” than meets the eye. I’ll be sure to come back here in a few days to see what has become of him.

Though Lavinia and I were very much in our sexual prime, our urges have diminished ever so slightly with the loss of Anzak, but life went on. A day had passed, and then two, still no word from Glaive. Garland grew tired of his brother’s games and unleashed a “Sending” upon him, but alas, no reply… Out of frustration, he sent one Crimson’s way and at last, a response.

Crimson: Please help… So cold and so hungry… We abandoned ship… The crew scattered… Priestess of darkness attacked us… Glaive in danger… Beware the Isle of…

Within au hour’s time, we had assembled a crew of twenty men and set sail in search for our missing friends. Crimson was spotted in an abandoned rowboat within a day. Fortunately we reached her in time. Upon boarding the Nixie, she proceeded to describe the events that took place. They were having trouble manoeuvring the ship until a dark priestess had made her presence felt. She commanded all to abandon ship and to stay away from the Isle of Dread. Crimson complied, unfortunately, that left us wondering what ever happened to poor Glaive. Within a few more hours, we had the Sea Wyvern in our sights. The ship appeared to be undamaged but was sailing adrift. We approached her, cautiously. Upon arrival, I boarded the ship along with Garland in hopes to find a clue. All was eerily quiet, the air was cold; something distasteful had definitely transpired here. Our search revealed nothing but a bloodstain on the main deck, and a trail leading to the Captain’s quarters. What I saw next was sure to haunt for years to come. Upon entering the cabin, we discovered what looked to be the remains of Glaive Gansworth himself. His body had been ravaged and scattered about, his head missing an eye and his tongue removed. Written on the wall in Gansworth blood, the word “BEWARE”.

Session 12: Player Thoughts

Secret Message and Kraken’s Cove Adventure

One of the most troubling things for any player I think, is to watch as another player writes and hands over a secret note to the DM. Our DM expected this would happen often and gave each of us a little booklet to do so, given that we are a party of rogues. So far I have passed a secret note at least once per session, hoping that the reaction of what I mentioned above was accomplished. Am I up to mischief? Which of my two characters is actually doing these secret things? What could be so important that I would want to hide what I’m doing when the campaign is only barely starting to roll on? Have I been sending fake notes? Well my fellow readers and fellow players, I am feeling in the mood for revelations this morning. I have and will indeed continue to send fake notes to the DM. There is a reason behind this of course. One is to put everyone on edge. The other is to make everyone think my characters are playing a larger part than they really are. Even though both my characters are level five, their power expectations have been greatly diminished than what I had envisioned. I spend literally hours trying to figure out the best option for my characters when they level up, mostly going to my first idea in the end (case in point, deflect arrows feat for Crimson). This stunning honesty may or may not be a surprise to my fellow players as I have, in past campaigns, sent fake notes before. Whether Bob and Eric believe these words is up to them, as of course I have naturally lied before, being a DM once every 2 or 3 campaigns of ours.

There have been some occasions where the notes that I’ve passed have been real notes. Two of the major reasons I actually revealed last session, though the players may not have picked up on it. The first was the interrogation of the Taxidermist guy whom I brought to my Scarlet Brotherhood Affiliation buddies. Some of the notes that passed between Mark and myself were regarding this, which in the end paid off. For in the secret exchanges I was able to get a piece of information very vital to the campaign and indeed our very survival. We are to recover an unknown artifact at a place called Tamo-Achan. This will protect us from the toxins in the air that, that to this past session, would have turned us all into monsters on a failed Fort save. And that there is a gnome who will be able to help us recover it once he approaches us.

The other secret that had been passed in the notes is my Glaive’s involvement with the Priestess Kera of Pelor. Where does Glaive sleep when he is neither at Lavinia’s nor the ship? Now you all have the answer. A vagabond and a priestess together, oh the scandal.

So that’s it pretty much. I wanted to get he message out there that neither Glaive nor Crimson is plotting against the party. We have seen this in a former member of our D&D group, and we know how much it is not a likable situation for anyone else, particularly the DM. But to Bob and Eric, I employ you both to continue to fear dreaded pencil on note-pad, in case my some insane, demonic, savage tide, that I should change my ways…. Mwaaahh, ha, hahhhhh!!!!

Oh, quickly regarding this past session, it was great. There was a lot of rollplaying that really moved it along great. I did find that Eric and I kind of stole a lot of the spot light as Glaive and Garland plotting a lot of dastardly deeds at the beginning of the session though. But when Lavinia is around, that is Gustav’s time to shine. You have Bob bringing the romance rollplaying into the picture. And you and Eric and myself bringing the buffoonery into the campaign. The two combined has made for a nice campaign so far. How we’ve gotten through each situation and how we’ve handled every speed bump is about how we all envisioned it would be for this party, if even more dramatic. And I think this might be a reason why I am not disappointed with the lack of power my two characters, nor the other characters possess. The non battle situations outweigh the battles 10 – 1 in most campaigns, making us all perfect to deal with those non-battle battles.

Valantru = Orbius? Quite the surprise. Shock value 8/10
Drackus = Orbius? Kinda saw that coming. Shock value 2/10

Can’t wait for the next session.

Chris

Summary 12: Disaster and Revelation

*Walking down Blain road as directed by the commoner Garland spoke to earlier, his eye caught the rickety sign hanging above the half open door. It read "Dragons Rum" which was the name of the local tavern within the port town that Captain Gansworth was currently docked at. Stepping inside and purchasing a beverage Garland spoke loudly to grab the attention of all within to tell a tale from his past.*

"Nev'r before in my life hath I seen such a pitiful sailor before, and t'is shameful that I dare say t'was me own brother. Though he does try to keep up with me own vessel... his lack of skill to this day hath brought us to dock earlier than expected as we pay workers to repair the hull of the Sea Wyvern from the damage sustained. An intelligent and cunny warmage he may be, but a Captain he is not. I should have realized this the first day we took the Blue Nixie out of Sasserine's Port several months ago. Those few days t'would be the turning point in our lives.

We had fortunately kept two Lotus Dragons alive in our most recent battle against them, and tied them up before waking them. We spoke with one whom called himself Lefty and his tongue loosened after I judged and killed his helpless friend besides him. We found his information quite useful and t'was from that day onwards that he was apart of me crew. Our destination t'would be Kraken's Cove where Rowyn was heading to meet up with both Vanthus and Dracktus, leader of the Lotus Dragons. As a par-ty we all agreed to set sail the following morning in order to reach the Cove before Rowyn had the opportunity to inform her allies that we still were breathing air, and that we be seeking revenge upon all.

As my crew worked the rigging's and Glaive took the helm I pointed out to the open sea and instructed Glaive to press onwards towards the Cove. I must admit that it felt good being out to sea again with my brother, just like in our youth when we played pirate on board our father's ship. It was a memory which had clouded my judgement as I ignored the signs of disaster. After three days of navigating and instructing Glaive to steer in my desired direction, he accidentally had thrown us off course making us lost at sea. I placed too much trust in my brother and did nay pay attention to the actual course he had taken us in. Our lead over Rowyn was nay looking good, more so when the Exotic Dancer Crimson confessed that she had a "meeting" In Sasserine in four days time that she HAD to attend. No less a meeting with some rich noble who required special services whilst his wife was a way. Frustrated and angered I took the helm while Glaive commanded the crew and gave me what hopefully were the right directions back to port. Lucky for us I knew how to sail a ship and brought us back safely to Sasserine, and though our lead was clearly lost we took the few days Crimson had given us to purchase and mount armaments to the ship in the event that Rowyn alerted Dracktus of our coming. As the work upon the Blue Nixie was completed, Crimson's meeting too was over and we were all ready once more to depart. I was reluctant in giving Glaive helmsman ship once more, but Gustave backed up my brother and asked to give him another chance to redeem himself to the sea Gods. I eventually caved but with my support he managed to sail us several kilometers off of shore to the cove.

Eventually to our misfortune, we entered an area of water with an incredible amount of coral reef, and as such I deemed it dangerous to the hull of the ship and would not continue further. Crimson suggested lowering our raft and continue to shore. Hauling it down into the water, we began our slow journey towards land. As we approached about an hours away from the Blue Nixie, a sudden explosion could be heard from the general vicinity of the ship yard, followed by a large green blanket of fog which materialized nearly seconds after. Drifting closer and closer to the mysterious green fog, my brother seemed agitated as we discussed how to proceed. I insisted that the green fog t'was still fog and we nay had the reason to ignore the ship yard and seek out our enemies. Gustave was indifferent in the matter as the Silent Assassin was unsure whether or not the green properties of the fog could pose any threats to ourselves while Crimson remained in a meditative stance for most of the ride so we did nay wish to disturb her. Glaive however showed his true colors that afternoon as his sharp tongue and raised voice was heard quite well as he begged us to turn away from the "scary" fog. I gest not but the coward even attempted in taking the oars from me hands to turn the raft around. His frail body in comparison to mine own however resulted in our continued drifting towards the fog. As we reached its outskirts a flock of birds suddenly exited from what we believed to be the nearby forest and soared high over our heads making their way out to sea. T'was sad to have spotted many of the birds injured by apparent scorch marks presumably from the unknown explosion, however one bird had remained and the daft thing made a suicidal dive at our raft. Its relentless attacks forced our hands to kill it, though somehow the bird was altered in some manner. Presumably from the explosion it was subjected to, it was quite warped and maddened with whatever plague it contracted. Its power was magnified and its ability to survive was great, even in death did it produce an explosion of acid nearly destroying our raft. The "mutoid" bird was merely the beginning to a long and adventurous journey. Continuing our way forwards we ventured into the fog, even under my brothers opposition. Soon my brothers nerves calmed as the only side effect produced from the green fog seemed to be a tingling of the flesh.

Rowing further inside the green fog we happened to pass close by the ship yard where to our surprise a large scale battle was taking place. On board many of the ships were men and mutoids fighting each other whilst the ships they were upon were set ablaze. One ship in particular caught our eye as it nay had an people on board, however it bore the crest of me family and it too had caught on fire. Lucky for us me brother had studied int he arts of magic and in using his powers summoned forth several orbs of ice to douse the flames. Continuing on we avoided the blood bath aboard the ships and made our way towards the beach area where we heard far less noise. Upon nearing the sandy beach our eyes adjusted to spot a damsel in distress fending off several mutoids on her own before fleeing towards what appeared to be a cave nearby. Deciding it best to aid the lady and perhaps attain crucial information to the whereabouts of Anzak and Vanthus, we quickened our rowing and readied our blades.

As we took leave of the raft and headed towards the sandy beach and the cave, Gustave took notice of an injured mutoid crawling to us moaning and groaning calling Gustave's name. To Gustave's surprise the mutoid was Rowyn though you could hardly recognize the tormented woman. She cried out in pain as her love Vanthus had left her and ran for the cave whilst her transformation took place and the ensuing battle commenced. Begging us to end her life I was more than willing to show her mercy, however the noble Assassin took out his blade and knelt down besides her. With not one... but three swifts hits the Assassin had put an end to the life of Rowyn allowing us to continue towards the cave. Gustaved showed that not not t'was he a killer... but he was a merciful killer.

Entering the dark cavern we had been lucky that me newly purchased weapon was bestowed with the ability to shed light into our surroundings. We took notice that there be two ways to travel, one being the twisted tunnels and the other being an underground water tunnel. We opted for the direct and simplest way and chose the twisted tunnels only to bump into a mutoid raptor. Knowing that mutoids seemed to be fairly empowered and that raptors themselves tend to be deadly in combat, we all decided to take a swim through the underground passageways. T'was fortunate that we decided to swim ye see for we entered a cavern that held within Anzak, one of the men that we were asked to locate. Unfortunately for Gustave whom wanted blood, Anzak did nay seem able to put up much fight as his body tired and was undergoing the mutoid transformation. To this day I nay understand why the Assassin didn't do him in then and there, but he insisted in bringing the sicked man outside for food and te transport him back to Sasserine. I had doubts about that barbarian and was more interested in the woman who entered the cave and the whereabouts of Vanthus. I informed the others that I would continue to brave the dangers of the tunnels in search for both individuals and not rest till I did.

Though I hath been surprised at Glaive on numerous times for showing signs of bravery, that day t'was not one of them. Rather than exploring the tunnels further by my side in search for the mysterious lady who seemed to require help, that swine instead followed Gustave around all the while keeping the Assassin between himself and the sickened Anzak whilst provoking the barbarian with words of betrayal from both his wife and Gustave. Perhaps a foolish act or the cowards way te take out the survivor with his magic should the two men have fought, Glaive would only learn later in life that upsetting someone that can break ye in two is not the smartest thing te do.

While the others played outside I happened to notice Crimson pursuing me in the water tunnels of the cave as I emerged into another cavern. As luck would have it t'was the very cavern where the mysterious woman had fled too and where two mutoids had caught up and battled her furiously. Both Crimson and myself aided her in fending off the brutes, before finding out her Captaincy of some Krakens Pirate group. Though I have little to say on pirates, this particular pirate had for the most part very similar goals... namely the deaths of Vanthus and Dracktus. But that te be another story mates.

If there ever be a time where a man walks up to ye and asks for ye to join his crew, make certain t'is not Glaive Gansworth lest ye be lost at sea with a yella belly forever."

*With Garlands final words he raised his mug high and gulped his liquor, with the rest of the folks in the tavern following suit.*

DM Thoughts: Session 12

Today's session was one to be marked by surprises and unexpected developments - some major, some minor - but with all of the PCs likely to be shocked by one event or another. As such, it was more of a roleplaying session, with minimal combat (only a couple of minor fights near the end).

And so, allow me to outline the surprises that hit the party, along with my thoughts on each:

A) The Second Savage Tide

Centuries after the Olman characters were there to witness (and in some ways provoke) the first Savage Tide explosion, it was now time to hit the modern world with its first disaster - though this time set in a far more remote location: Kraken's Cove, days away from Sasserine. While this seems far less likely of a target than Thanaclan had been, this is explained by the fact that this current explosion was an accident. Nonetheless, it serves as a definite warning to the party that something very bad is going on, with Vanthus and Dracktus seemingly right in the middle of it. What might happen if Sasserine were hit instead?

B) The First Savage Creatures

While the Olmans merely witnessed the death of one Savage-Afflicted creature (for the most part avoiding the central island mesa where the explosion occured), our modern party was more directly involved in combatting some of the creatures. And in the process, they got to discover the dangerous and creepy death throes possessed by such monsters - a sudden revival and quick final attack, followed by an acidic burst. Dangerous and disgusting, to be sure, and something the party may need to prepare themselves for in the future - as encounters with the Savage-Afflicted become a recurring event. Not to mention the side-effect of being bitten, that Gustave nearly suffered himself... infection with the very disease that causes the Savagery in the first place.

C) Recovering the Sea Wyvern - Free For The Taking

On the beach of Kraken's Cove, amid a fleet of burning ships, the Gansworths were at last reunited with their father's ship, the Sea Wyvern. Some quick action eliminated the threat of it burning up, leaving it all theirs to reclaim... if they can safely navigate it out through dangerous reefs, that is.

D) Finding Rowyn - Begging To Be Killed

As the party did not succeed in capturing or killing Rowyn in the previous session, this left her alive and on the move - heading to Kraken's Cove to warn Vanthus and Dracktus of their impending pursuit. Yet, her fate was not to be so forgiving, as this instead placed her front and center for the Savage Tide. Hit hard by it and rapidly losing her mind, she could do no more than beg her former enemies for a quick and merciful death - which Gustave kindly granted.

E) Finding Anzak - Alive But Very Hungry

One of the most significant surprises of the session was the sudden finding and rescuing of Anzak, seemingly broken free from whatever charm had claimed him previously - but now turned Savage and seemingly in a rapid decline. What the group decides to do with him now is still up in the air... But whatever choice Gustave makes in the matter may be a turning point for his character and the campaign itself...

F) Captain Meets Captain

And with a handshake, Captain Garland has finally met his counterpart, Captain Harliss of the Kraken Society, a powerful and lethal fleet of pirates. Both have a thirst for blood against Vanthus and Dracktus... but will the future bring these two into a partnership of sorts, or will it eventually pit them one against the other? Only time will tell...

G) At Last, The Manor Is In Danger

The party has been expecting an attack or threat against Vanderboren Manor since the start of the campaign, constantly surprised to see Vanthus not ordering an attack against it. At last, however, while Lavinia herself lies unprotected within - the attack is now on its way, ordered instead by Captain Harliss. While she sees it as deserved revenge against Vanthus and his family, the party knows different... but can they get back in time to rescue the damsel in distress?

H) "We've Been Vhalantru'ed!"

Truer words could not have been said. The start of the campaign posed an interested dilemma for me, in that I knew I wanted Orbius Vhalantru to return as a major villain in this campaign, but I wasn't sure how exactly I could repeat or duplicate the manner in which he'd been so successful the first time around. What Vhalantru had done to the Outsiders was a large-scale scheme which involved gaining their trust, manipulating them to do his bidding, using them to help him rise in power, then fleeing the scene as soon as he sensed they were on to his plans. That was the type of villain he was - the behind-the-scenes type, who was always involved in far more evil plots than you suspected him of.

So, my dilemma was how to try and replicate this story in such a way as to make the current PCs hate him just as much (or even more) than the original Outsiders did. The players knew Vhalantru, and would likely be interested in getting even with him - but for it to really work, the new characters needed a reason to hate him too. And so, I began with the plot thread of the Simulacrum Suit. I established in an Ahead of the Storm entry that plans for creating more of them were found in his Oblivion base - meaning that he could possibly take over someone else's identity all over again.

From there, it was a matter of deciding WHO he could be. I posted on the Paizo message boards, asking for advice... and received the intriguing suggestion of making Vhalantru be Vanthus Vanderboren himself. This intrigued me, yet at the same time, I liked Vanthus a lot as a villain too, and didn't know if I would be short-changing the campaign by effectively replacing one of its main villains with another one altogether. So instead I looked to other options, namely taking someone who was not supposed to be a major villain, and turning them into one.

And that's when I came to the idea of Dracktus. Here was a corrupt man who was effectively ruling over Sasserine as its mayor - which is Vhalantru to perfection. Add in his pre-conceived ties to the Gansworths, and I began to see the potential there. And even the name was perfect, somehow... the symmetry between Orbius and Dracktus as they roll of the tongue just sounded right.

So I went with that, and let things build up from there. Soon, with Garland reporting to Dracktus as a member of the Dawn Council, and Dracktus using him to help orchestrate the escape of Vanthus and Rowyn... things were well in motion toward meeting the end result I was hoping for.

And so now, with that plot revealed, Vhalantru has also been established, alongside Vanthus, as being the two major villains of the campaign to come. What their exact plans and motives are, remains to be seen. But in terms of building up hate and resentment from the party, I think they've both hit their stride, in terms of the group just dying to get their hands on them for what they've done to them so far.

So, while I don't know if this "Vhalantru'ed" moment was as unexpected as the first one had been (my player Chris said he saw it coming), I do hope that it is nonetheless a fun development. I personally love the Vhalantru character, so having him back in the fold makes the Savage Tide campaign even more exciting to me than it was originally planned to be. Let's hope the players agree!

Summary 11: The Rum Rampage

Captain’s Log. Entry number 41: Glaive Gangsworth

Tis quite beautiful on the waters today. The crew is as happy as ever, what with me opening up the rum keg for all last eve. That delightful beverage as brought so much joy to my life. Even at times it has been used as a weapon of improvised choice. For you see I am the true creator of the rolling rum. By the time anyone reads these words, my invention has likely become a technique used in every war battle fought, with each general claiming it is his own invention. Allow me to take yee back to the time where it all began.

My crew members: Garland, Gustav, Crimson, and Isabella had just fought a hard battle. Thanks to my incredible guidance, we had easily emerged victorious, even though four of our hirelings had turned on us, having being working for the enemy all along. I had already sent the assassin Gustav to scout the immediate area, so we knew the threats surrounding us. Our mission at the time was one of revenge for some and one of profit for others. The paths to both led somewhere on the other side of several doors. On the other side of once door we heard the sounds of Lotus Dragon thieves training. While another we heard the growls of worgs of whom which we would later tame. The former was our chosen course. With our magic and muscle already taxed to the limit, we needed a plan to take them out, while minimizing actual hand to hand combat. Crimson and I both thought of somehow using the rum barrels we had earlier passed as a weapon. Though Garland baulked at the idea of wasting so much rum, we collectively thought of creating an explosion by rolling a keg into the training room and having it explode, thus leading to the rolling rum. Using my infinite knowledge of crafting, I was able to create a perfect fuse. We decided to apply this to the other three barrels as well. It took more time than was necessary however as we had to stop part way through in order to mop up Garland’s tears.

Once the task was complete, the Assassin readied himself to open the door and dive aside as Garland and Crimson rolled the rum into the room. Tis a shame I was out of view to see the last look on the trainees faces as the rum exploded in their midst. The destruction was much greater than we could have hoped for. All six Lotus Dragons had been thrown against the walls, with not a single one of them surviving the blast.

Down a hall we had earlier passed, a chorus of squawking birds filled the air with an alarm call, as though our bomb had not been enough to alert everyone to our presence. Not wanting to make the scene to suspicious, we recovered and placed two of the dead Dawn Council members at the door of the training hall, to make it look like it was them that were attacking. From there we moved on to the room where the bird calls were coming from. It turned out to be a dining hall with caged parrots screeching at the top of their beaks. With cold precision, Gustav shot them all dead, before moving to the kitchen door. The Man of a Thousand Corpses was then taken quite surprised as he was doused by a pot of burning liquid upon opening the door. Gustav writhed on the ground from the boiled poison, whose origin was from a kobold and his grapeshot catapult. Crimson was the first to scold the kobold, saying we were Lotus Dragons come to check on him. After explaining to Churtle that the base was under attack by the Dawn Council, we were able to gain her confidence. And we did well to do so, as the Assassin had been ready to add Churtle to his body count.

The kobold said that Emil Dracktus was the true leader of the Lotus Dragons and that he was fairly certain that the betrayal on the Blue Nixie had been a ruse. Regarding this particular hideout, Anzak and Vanthus had fled to rendezvous with Dracktus at Kraken’s Cove. Churtle also warned us of one part of the underground complex called the Crucible; a place similar to the deadly underground of Parrot Isle. After we garnered as much info as possible, we escorted the cook to a nearby inn above, telling her to lay low until we came back for her in a few days. There was little convincing needed as the walls around the kobold were literally exploding around her.

Using further intelligence from our recently acquired ally, the five of us moved to the door in the training room that would lead us to Rowyn, should she still be around. The door led to yet another training area with more dummies of Gustav, a chair, and a set of handcuffs. This last Crimson unsurprisingly added to her inventory. On the other side of the only other door in the room came the sounds of chains dragging along the ground. With what little battle experience at the time we had acquired, we had already figured out that anytime one opens as door, one is likely to get hit by someone or something readying some sort of attack action. The flying, boiling, poison filled, kettle being the most recent example of this. Given this inevitable upon anyone entering the room, I came up with the idea of tying one of the remarkably realistic Gustav dummies up in front of the door. Myself and Isabella, the only two spellcasters. Took cover as Garland pushed the door open and darted aside. Sure enough, a tentacle shot out of the opening to grab our Gustav puppet, and drag it into its maw. With that, the Assassin and Garland moved in to menace the now familiar foe. Crimson moved in to aid Garland while he yelled out to me that there was an opening for me to move in and blast the beast away with a spell.

And that was when my brother tried to kill me.

His words lured me into a perfect opening for the ragadesa to strike out at me. And it did with a toothy-mouthed glee. I remember having time for a half scream before the monster’s tentacle ground me to a pulp.

But I survived using nothing but my force of will.

It was Crimson’s loving eyes that I awoke to. Seeing her, I knew two things: that my friends had succeeded in downing the monster. And that my monster of a brother had failed in his subtle attempt to kill me. Not wanting to let anyone know, I simply dismissed the incident as an accident, as was the case when my brother had killed Gustav in that friendly stabbing mater when we had faced the zombies.

There was reason for such a powerful beast such as the ragadesa in this particular room as it was guarding a particularly important map. On the wall was a layout of all of Sasserine, with red, blue, and gold pegs scattered all around. It didn’t take us long to realize that red meant and enemy, blue meant and ally, and gold meant a source of income. There was also a bunch of maps indicating upcoming shipments of monsters, drugs, and other unsavory materials. Naturally my brother and I began thinking of ways to profit from this last info. The most glaring thing in the room though was a simple message painted in large lettering on the wall. The lettering had our names next to the message "VANTHUS, FIX THIS NOW."

No sooner did we read those words when we heard banging coming from the next room. Garland positioned himself in front of the door while kicking it open, just as a bugbear zombie came charging out. All of us tried to place our blades in the way to aid my brother's defense, but alas the zombie was obviously trained by the Lotus Dragon’s. For, like them and all their minions, the zombie easily found a hole in our defense and smacked Garland with a mighty spiked ball.

Indeed, I think back now on all the thieves and beasts we have faced thus far, and we have sadly found neither armor nor skills that have yet to fend off even the tiniest of crab claws from finding purchase on our flesh, despite all our many battles. It seems we are a cursed lot of sorry souls. Alas I’m getting off track. Though the undead took some pounding, we eventually downed it thanks to the Gangsworth’s skills.

With all the racket we had been making, it was a wonder that no reinforcements had yet to arrive. And so it was no surprise that we heard the sounds of shouting guards from back the way we had come. We had naturally brought our rolling rums with us, and so prepared a setup of one of them. We placed a rum barrel in the doorway where Crimson had picked up the handcuffs, distanced ourselves, and had the Assassin prepare a fiery bolt. And indeed five Lotus Dragons came into view, kneeled down, and prepared to launch their bolts. Their fingers only got hallway to the triggers before Gustav’s bolt hit the rolling rum to send fiery death all around. There had been a sixth Dragon trailing behind, but his screams became that of pain as our blades rushed up to pierce his heart.

Searches of the remaining rooms did not come across Rowyn, only her escape route through a grate, thanks to a potion. Our discoveries did turn up a rather vast library of books of erotic tales, along with an eye-catching wardrobe collection. All of these, including the books, Crimson would later take for her own collection.

Gustav and his keen eye also found a secret door. Fearing a trap, we allowed Garland to knock open the door. As though we had cast an augury spell, my brother was indeed struck by a poisoned dart. Unbeknownst to us, Crimson seemed to have skills in the ways of wound analysis as she recognized that Garland had been infected with the deadly black adder poison. Before anyone could intervene, she placed her lips on the dart wound and sucked out all the toxin before it could harm my brother.

After that brief drama, we all went to investigate the contents of the room. The most interesting things were three chests. Using his instincts, Garland bashed open the first chest while standing upon it. This triggered a deadly spike trap in front of him, narrowly missing the gems he carried with him always. The second chest he bashed open however triggered another poison dark trap. I swear my brother jumped into its path, hoping to get the same medical treatment from Crimson; which he indeed received much to my jealous eyes. The last chest sadly was a poison gas trap. Its effects were none as we all managed to vacate the room to allow for it to dissipate harmlessly. All together we found several vials of poison, three statuettes, and 8000 gold of Lavinia’s fortune.

Despite all that had been discovered, I decreed that it was not enough. My friends insisted we should leave, but with the possibility that at least Rowyn was about, I declared that the search would continue. But in the end, we found that she and everyone else had fled. We were only fortunate to hear some stragglers rowing away. Their words spoke of a possible return in the future. Yet I demanded more information than that.

Leading everyone back to the upper level, we ran to a nearby dock area where we thought the Lotus Dragon’s might emerge. Sure enough, two suspicious looking characters were just standing around. Before even a few words of parlé could be exchanged, Crimson simply asked if we five could stand around looking suspicious as well. Shrugging their shoulders, they simply blasted the monk with two quarrels. Two more of their allies climbed up to join the fight, but it was pointless. Our skills far outmatched their, and the battle as over before it had even begun. The ultimate prize being that two of the four Dragons were still alive when the fighting was over. It was at that moment that I decided we would get some serious answers from these prisoners. How strange it was at that moment that their boss Dracktus had given Garland and I, licenses to kill them.

Summary 10: The Dracktus Deception

**Writing upon a parchment once more, Garland's thoughts were taking form and purpose**

Surviving the Deathtrap Dungeon was one of the most rewarding events to ever occur in my life. Though we discovered the truth about the lair of our enemies and we were gifted with treasure, it pains me to see Gustave dying in my mind over and over again by my hands. Though I try not to blame myself, I find it hard to blame anyone else for it was my carelessness, my actions and my weapon that did him in. Perhaps that is why I insisted in sending Gustave a few potions and coin along with a note as a means to perhaps buy his forgiveness. We were of course fortunate that we befriended Lavinia whom seems romantically interested in Gustave, who made a monetary sacrifice to bring our comrade back to the living. Though I could not bear to see Gustave upon the eve of his return, I had no choice but to gather the crew the following day to discuss our attack upon the Lotus Dragons.

Glaive was the only one amongst us who thought it best te ignore the Lotus Dragons and leave Sasserine te explore the sea. Though as tempting as that be, Lavinia insisted that we venture into the belly of the beast to find our pay and bring in both Vanthus and Anzak alive. I had a personal vendetta te settle with Vanthus as did Gustave with Anzak and I have serious doubts that I shall be able te keep myself from killing Vanthus for the crimes I find him guilty for. Vanthus the man who tossed aside my proposal for peace and indirectly killed Captain Shadwik and was most likely responsible for both the cartographer's and mother's death. With such attacks upon my family, I would have his head. We took watch upon the taxidermist shop for several hours and noticed an odd group of men entering and disappearing from the shop, only te emerge a few hours later. Crimson decided te try her charms upon the man inside hinting that she was a new Lotus recruit who had forgot the password. Perhaps not the brightest of idea te come from that pole dancers mind, Gustave's plan however was quite ingenious. Using the gift we gave him, he quaffed his invisibility potion and entered the store upon the return of the mysterious men. Gathering information he discovered how to enter the secret Lotus' lair however before being able to exit the store, he found himself locked within with no visible signs of escape. He later informed us that he dived behind a desk as he noticed the shop owner casting magical spells, one of which looked as though it was meant te detect intruders. With no evidence of intruders within his shop, the owner proceeded te enter adjacent rooms and begin bathing.

With crude signals the Silent Assassin lead us towards an ally where he opened the window from inside the shop. Crimson and myself joined Gustave for a one on one confrontation whilst Glaive and the Council guards remained in the ally. My brother... the only man in the world who actually went out with a pole dancer and never managed to view the body under the clothing. Myself on the other hand managed once again te have the pole dancer remove her top vestments for another ingenious plan. I however did not expect her te remove all her clothing, which happened te be a bonus as the perfect and slender body before me was going te be used te lure and distract the mage that was bathing. Gently calling out te the mage who was unaware of intruders, she managed te lure the mage outta the tub as they both headed towards the master chambers. The deceitful mage however had other intentions as he attempted to through dirt on her. My brother later explained that the dirt would have knocked her unconscious leaving her beautiful body te be ravaged by his filthy hands. Fortunately for Crimson both Gustave and myself were not far away as we quickly knocked the old fool out.

Reviving the mage without clothes or the ability to twiddle his fingers, he was quite willing te spill the sardines on the Lotus Dragons and their lair. Through lying teeth did he plea his innocence and how he only received weekly sums of gold te house a secret entrance, we all had a feeling that there was far more knowledge on his tongue than he was letting on. Knowing that Crimson respected the truth and was an able runner, she knocked the fool out once more and rush his body over te the Council for further questioning. Upon her return the lot of us descended into the bowls of the Dragon.

Upon our decent, we noticed that there were no guards or beasts on watch, nor were there any lurking about. Ever vigilant we continued to explore the massive underground lair. There be plenty of doors and corridors that we explored, one of which we dared not open as the sounds of a dozen men in training were clearly heard. Minutes would pass until we could venture no further without opening a door. Deciding it best to begin exploring the rooms further away from the training room, I chose a door which the Sea Gods themselves must have lead me te. Within a small chamber were barrels of Rum, which after sampling proved te be one of the finest tasting stocks I had the joys of tasting. Not letting it go te complete waste I emptied one of my water skins and refilled it, and allowed the men a small sampling to warm their spirits. Unfortunately for us we weren't as quite as we should have been which alerted what appeared to be a barracks room not ten paces away. With two exits to the room, our group split into two groups to ensure none escaped to alert others of our presence. Whilst one side bashed through a closed door and the other charge in through an open one, it wasn't long until the several Lotus Dragon's within the room were silenced. Pondering our next course of actions, we decided it best to attack the training room which seemed to be our next biggest threat in the vicinity.

With a perfect plan devised by our cooperative minds, I did not nor would have even considered betrayal at that time. Whilst I was in the Rum storage area with one of Dracktus' men, I heard one of the others call out that the time to strike was now. Though confused as te what was going on, it did not take me long te figure out that Draktus had once again betrayed me... betrayed US! The guard I was with though shaken as he approached me with his weapon still made an attempt nonetheless te strike me down. For his treasonous actions I slew him and quickly ran towards the barracks where I knew the others were ill equipped te handle the situation. As I entered the room I saw Gustave attempting te corner himself as the guards surrounded him and both Glaive and the cleric upon the ground bleeding... I had no time te think but only react and so I joined the fray showing no mercy killing them one by one with Gustave's aid. Crimson though far away had managed te hear the battle and returned te give aid in restoring the life in the cleric and my brother.

Greatly angered by what transpired, Glaive unleashed his wrath with distasteful words followed by Drakus' name. I hath never seen Glaive so focused before in all of our growing up. All that was upon his mind was to lay his spellfire down the Dawn Council member's throat. Dracktus as sly as he was had picked the wrong crew te mess with. Naming Gustave in the original Lotus Dragon investigation and risking his life and that of his families; informing the Dragons of Vanthus' secret location during Lavinia's wedding, lying te my face; working with the Dragons; backstabbing us whilst we infiltrated the Dragons' lair; and the most unforgivable... like Vanthus indirectly responsible for killing Captain Shadwick. The traitorous scum hath left me no choice but te bring him te justice. However unfortunately for Dracktus, I be given my word to my brother that he may justify his recent transactions and betrayals te the city and to the Family of Gansworth. Unlike myself... Glaive isn't as forgiving.

Continuing through the lair to reach Vanthus and Anzak, we made haste so that we could pay our good friend Dracktus a visit.

**With the last words scribbled upon the letter, Garland seals the letter closed with the Dawn Council seal. Returning to his crew he hands the letter over to one of his trusted friends, asking him to hand the letter over to Lux Seoni should her children go missing, or are found dead within fourteen days.**

DM Thoughts: Session 11

So as we have now completed our first "real" chapter of Savage Tide, I thought this week I'd give my thoughts on the challenges faced by our party in Chapter Two.

First encounter, versus the "Dawn Council" members on the Blue Nixie:

A moderate challenge that was made a lot easier by smart tactics and good thinking from the party. By taking on their opponents only a few at a time, and keeping the positioning in their favor, the group avoided a lot of potential sneak attack damage, which would have been quite difficult for level one characters to survive. They also demonstrated that their own tactics (skirmish, criticals, magic) were quite effective against humanoid opponents, which will be quite numerous throughout the campaign.

Second encounter, versus the Iron Cobra in the vault under Castle Teraknian:
Where their special abilities aided them greatly in the first fight, those same abilities were quite ineffective against this construct. The party was therefore much more hard-pressed to earn a victory - with in coming down to Garland's strength and power in the end (along with a couple of potions to keep him in the fight). A far bigger challenge.

Third encounter, versus ravenous zombies and a huecuva under Parrot Island:
Another great challenge, as the undead possessed many of the same defenses as the earlier construct, including immunity to critical and sneak/skirmish damage, and damage reduction. Some confusion over grappling rules also contributed towards the death of Gustave in the first fight, though the major reason for his death was the combination of a new and unknown enemy, and a very untimely critical miss from Garland. The rest of the dungeon, especially the huecuva fight at the end, in a pool filled with dangerous urchins, was also a serious challenge for the party - though in the end, they pulled out a win.

Fourth encounter, versus Lotus Dragons in their guildhall:

Here, the party made excellent use of tactics and improvising with their surroundings, by using their wits to turn rum barrels into rolling explosive devices. This, combined with the element of surprise, allowed them to make quick work of all humanoid enemies within the complex. The only humans who posed a bit of a threat here were the "Dawn Council" members who ambushed the party with sneak attacks (fighter/rogues with longswords - ouch). Two more dangerous encounters in the guildhall were against a rhagodessa (who seriously injured Garland and Glaive) and a bugbear zombie (who dealt serious wounds to Gustave). All in all, though, the guildhall was easier for the group that both the vault and Parrot Island had been. In great part, this was thanks to them not having to deal with Rowyn Kellani just yet - as their loud and slow means of approach gave her more than enough time to make an escape via Potion of Gaseous Form, to travel through a vent toward the rowboat area.

Fifth encounter, versus Lotus Dragons at the dock / secret exit from the guildhall:
As this was more than an hour after Rowyn had been alerted within the guildhall, all that was left was the "cleanup crew" of four Lotus Dragon Elites, who were the last to leave the complex. These four were caught and battled at the dock, however, by the party. And while they were more powerful than previously encountered Lotuses, the few wounds they dealt the party were not enough to pose all that serious of a threat.

Thus, my chapter awards for Biggest Challenge, and Biggest Pushover, go to...

BIGGEST CHALLENGE: The Iron Cobra!

For proving to be just about the most indestructible thing a level one party has ever had to face.

BIGGEST PUSHOVER: The Lotus Dragons in the guildhall!
For getting massacred by their very own rum supply.

Stay tuned next week, for the start of Chapter Three!

DM Thoughts: Session 10

In this, the tenth session of the campaign, I think it is a good time to gather my thoughts on the various characters in the campaign, and how I feel about each of their developments so far. I shall include the Olman characters as well, since they played the major part in the first half of these ten sessions.

THE GOOD GUYS

Bakura:
The young dragon shaman was a delightful character to have for the pre-campaign, as the four sessions truly told a great story arc for him. Where he began as an unproven boy with great ambitions, he evolved into the new leader of his people, paving the way for their survival after the greatest of disasters. He had a lot of pressure on his shoulders, since much of the storyline depended on him and the decisions he would make, but in the end, things worked out to perfection in my eyes.

Immortal:
Definitely a pleasant surprise, to me. Of the three Olmans, I can honestly say that I was by far the most worried about how he would fit in with things. While the main Savage Tide campaign has plenty of room for comedy and occasional sillyness, the pre-campaign needed a more serious tone. It had to tell the story of a great tragedy, and the heroes who saved their people afterward - and with Immortal's visual image being Papa Shango, and his main character trait being a likelihood to kill off his friends - I was fearful that he would either ruin the tension, or bring things to an unpleasant ending. But in the end, I need not have worried. He developped quite nicely into a heroic figure, with the "unpleasant ending" part coming at the perfect moment as well - bringing the right tragic note to the end of the pre-campaign, like something straight out of a Shakespearian drama.

Meleeki:
Could not have asked for more, as Meleeki unexpectedly became not only a hero, but a martyr of sorts, giving up her life in order to save so many others. Her sacrifice, in my opinion, combined with Immortal's reaction to it, elevated the pre-campaign beyond even my expectations for it - turning the four-part start of the campaign into one of the most memorable stories our group has even taken part in.

Garland:
The whaler began the campaign as a hireling in all aspects of his life: working for Captain Shadwick and the whaler's guild, working for Verik Vanderboren as a goon to protect Gustave, even working for his mother in doing her a favor by accepting the Vanderboren job. Yet he has since evolved quite nicely into a leader, instead. With the death of his Captain, he has become one himself. With his starting up of Gansworth Investigations, he has taken an active role in helping the people of Sasserine. Even his relationship with his brother has evolved into something far more cordial than the start of the campaign would have suggested. And now, with revenge against Vanthus, Rowyn, Anzak, Dracktus and Orbius on the mind, the Captain is well on his way to becoming Legendary indeed.

Glaive:
He has proven to be far more sneaky and manipulative than might have been expected, so far in the campaign. Against all odds, he has earned himself control of a 10,000 gp ship within the first chapter of the adventure, as well as putting himself in a position to make multiple demands on just about everyone in his life, from his mother to Lavinia herself. Not to mention that it was his actions that directly led to the original arrest of Anzak, then later Vanthus and Rowyn. Indeed, the warmage is more of a power-player than expected, so soon in the campaign. In time, one can but wonder what kind of ship captain he might turn out to be.

Gustave:
Where once Bob wondered if Gustave would have enough motivation to be part of the campaign, circumstances have instead made him the roleplaying centerpoint of it, as his relationship with Lavinia is a large part of pushing the main story forward. As he approaches his inevitable confrontation with "Guildenstern", one can't help but wonder to what lengths Gustave might go to secure Lavinia's love. Even with one death and raising under his belt already, he has been an excellent character to watch evolve - even potentially being in for an alignment change, already!

Crimson:
She has always been the big question mark, to be honest. A later addition to the character line-up as we approached the campaign, it was wondered how this supposedly innocent lady would fit in with three sneaky rogueish men. Yet, she has proven herself to be possibly sneakier than any of them. Her manipulation of Max has helped the party on many occasions, and her blunt words have put everyone on the spot at one time or another. In many ways, she remains a big wild card, as I don't think any of her allies trust her completely, just yet.

Lavinia:
While at this point her character development has been more reactive than proactive, in terms of simply getting hit with blow after blow, from the betrayal of her husband and brother to the deaths of her parents... Lavinia has begun to evolve in the past few sessions into a more ruthless and brave character than might have been suspected, willing to go to vast lengths (including a bit of crime and the occasional murder) to get what she's after: the truth, and a measure of revenge. With her relationship with Gustave progressing a bit more every week (gotta love those car rides home, in that regard), things are getting quite interesting.

THE BAD GUYS

Anzak:
He has been more of a behind-the-scenes villain at this point, since the party have mostly seen the results of his deeds, rather than the commission of them. Yet, from his gambling debts and association with the Lotus Dragons to his more recent murders of Lavinia's parents, he has begun to evolve into a greater mystery. Not only in terms of what is controlling him and what his motives are, but also how Lavinia and Gustave will deal with him in the end, when a real confrontation takes place.

Vanthus:
He has definitely been under-the-radar to a great extent so far, yet the party does know that he has been involved in many heinous acts. He is believed to be behind the murders of the blacksmith, Kiva the Cartographer, Lux Seoni of the Witchwardens - and indirectly, Captain Shadwick. All in all, especially considering that his negociations with Garland led to his escape, Vanthus has slowly been building himself up to be the legendary captain's archnemesis, by attacking all that Garland holds dear, and playing him for a fool. In time, as we see more of Vanthus, this rivalry will quite likely escalate quite a bit more.

Rowyn:
She remains more of a mystery, at this point. It is known that she is the daughter of local nobles, and has been the love interest of Vanthus for quite some time, yet her exact involvement in the Lotus Dragons had remained a bit more secretive, with the exception of Garland's eavesdropping beneath that window in Shadowshore... That time, the conversation he heard made it pretty clear that both Anzak and Vanthus were beneath her in the group's ranks. Yet, as it now appears that Rowyn and her pet felldrake dwell within the Lotus Dragon Guildhall most of the time, we may soon see her step into the spotlight at last.

Orbius:
His relationship with the Lotus Dragons remains the most mysterious of all, as he has only been encountered once: being the prime initiator of the breakout of Vanthus and Rowyn, with the assistance of seven gauth followers. Is he a part of the Lotus Dragons, or merely returning a favor to its leaders? Only time will tell. Yet, with his Finger of Death spell killing Garland's father figure, Captain Shadwick, his relationship with the PCs is off to a rocky start.

Dracktus:
Only with this past session can Dracktus' name officially be added to the company of the other four. Yet never was he really trusted. The leader of the Dawn Council and effective mayor of Sasserine has been a thorn in the party's side from even before the campaign started, as he has in his possession the Sea Wyvern, the ship of Gabriel Gansworth that both his sons long to recover. Since then, he has cemented himself as distrustful as he seemingly set Garland to take the fall for the escape of Vanthus and Rowyn, in addition to publicly naming Gustave as an enemy of the Lotus Dragons. It is known that he had the Dawn Council broker a deal with the Lotus Dragons. Dracktus was also the one who suggested that the party follow Max's trail, only days before Max himself was disposed of by the Lotus Dragons themselves, trapped in the Parrot Island cave along with the party. As he now conveniently has left town, while giving the party the "help" of four Dawn Council members who then turned on them and tried to kill them, one can only wonder just what Dracktus is truly up to. Suffice to say, his next encounter with Garland and the others will likely not be a peaceful one.

And so, that pretty much sums up the status of things at the end of the first ten sessions. With the exclusion of the Olmans, we now have a balanced equation of five heroes and five villains - Garland, Glaive, Gustave, Crimson and Lavinia, versus Anzak, Vanthus, Rowyn, Orbius and Dracktus. More will certainly be added to both lists as the campaign goes on, but what you have there is already the foundation of most of what is to come, as those villains and their motives will gradually be revealed, and our heroes begin to discover the extent of the danger ahead of them.

And as this session brings the party into the Lotus Dragon Guildhall itself... it likely won't be long before things start to get very heated indeed.

Definitely having a blast so far... can't wait to see what the next ten sessions bring us!

DM Thoughts: Session 09

This session marked the unveiling of the first of my colored maps for the campaign - this one being for the caves under Parrot Island, into which the party was trapped by Vanthus and Anzak at the beginning of the session.

The key difference from the way I wanted to handle maps in this campaign, compared to the past few, lay however not in the use of color (which is more of an artistic touch than anything else) - but in the use of unity. Whereas for Shackled City (the first campaign in which I introduced pre-drawn maps as a tool for improving dungeon exploration), I had drawn the maps on semi-thick card-stock, then cut them up into sections for each rooms, turning dungeons into tiled portions that could be added bit by bit... this time I wanted to experiment with something different. Rather than chop up a dungeon, I wanted to try drawing out the entire thing on a single large sheet of paper. This would come with both advantages and disadvantages, of course. The first advantage was ease of storage - before we had to place the cutout maps sections in large "books" of sorts, which took up a far amount of space and were hard to re-store a map in after it had been used - now a map was simply a rolled-up tube of paper, and could be rolled up again after use. The second advantage was easy of use - rather than search through the book for the right tile for the next room, then try and figure out the right direction in which to place it, we now had a map that was entirely assembled already - leaving out the possibility of error, missing tiles, or wasted time trying to find things. This also made it easier for backtracking: before, we might have had to reconstruct the map if the party wanted to run back to an earlier room - now, the entire map remains there, available if necessary. Both of these advantages, then, make the large paper maps quite a bit more practical and convenient for the DM, requiring less work to create and prepare, as well as less work to understand and use in the middle of the session.

However, there is one disadvantage over the prior method - that with the entire map visible, it may at times "spoil" things for the party, in terms of the layout of the dungeon. Yet, in my eyes, this is not such a big problem as you might think, which is why I was willing to take that risk. Firstly, because oftentimes the size and layout of rooms isn't a full indicator of what the "right" way to go is, or where to find the "boss", either. Sure, a large room might seem like a place for a bigger encounter, but the main enemy could just as easily be in a smaller room as well. And anyway, in the interest of maximizing experience, and finding as much treasure as possible, our group tends to explore the entirety of most dungeons anyway. So it's not as though half the map would be ignored, just because it seems like the "wrong way" to go, to get to the boss. We would usually end up exploring it anyway. Also, lastly, my group has a strange knack for picking the right path by pure chance anyway, heading straight for the boss without even meaning to. Time and time again, we've done that through sheer luck (or bad luck, depending on how prepared we were) - so even if a particular map made it clear where the boss was, all that would likely do is make the party more likely to save that room for last, since time and time again we've speeded through a dungeon a bit too quick, ending up with a tougher boss fight than we would have liked.

Thus, for all these reasons, I decided to test out the paper map idea. And so far, at the point that I write this, we have fully used the one for Parrot Island, and partially used the one for the Lotus Dragon Guildhall. And in both cases, I have been quite happy with the results. Exploring has been sped up a bit, things are so much easier for me in terms of terrain management during the session, and the fights have made use of greater-than-average tactical positioning. So no complaints on this end.

As for the session itself, the other main element was my happiness that things actually turned out better than expected for the party. Which is strange to say, since one of them died, but that one death made for a far smaller casualty list than I was originally expecting.

This was due to the tactics laid out in the previous session, in which Crimson, Gustave and Lavinia were to accompany a suspected Lotus Dragon named Max to a guild safehouse on Parrot Island, while the other two party members (Glaive and Gustave) were going to investigate his house. This I feared as a very dangerous decision, since I knew both sides of the plan were very risky, and should not be attemped with a split party. This because the Parrot Island scenario was not just a small ambush, as suspected, but rather a betrayal of Max himself which was supposed to put the entire party into a trapped position, locked in a dungeon, trying to escape. Crimson, Gustave and Lavinia alone (even with Max's help) would have little hope of getting out alive, knowing what I knew about the dangerous monsters within the caves.

As for Glaive and Garland, I was worried for them as well. I knew that they were being followed and watched by a team of four Lotus Dragons already, ready to jump in if they did anything undesirable. So when the duo broke into Max's house, I fully expected the two to have trouble fighting off the four rogues. Actually, in my mind, I already had a plan as to how I was going to play it out, should they not be able to fight off the thieves: both brothers were going to be knocked unconscious, but not left dead. Garland was going to then wake up the next day, finding himself with a dagger pierced through his hand and a note attached to it, saying: "We have taken your brother hostage - if you and the Dawn Council do not stop the investigation immediately, he dies." Glaive, meanwhile, would be held prisoner within the Lotus Dragon Guildhall, being interrogated by certain higher-ups.

This would have given some extra tension to the invasion of the Guildhall, while also forcing the players to fight with one man missing. It also would not have robbed Chris of a chance to play, since he controls both Glaive and Crimson, and therefore would still have a character.

Furthermore, Garland would have to locate his other missing friends, as they would likely be trapped or potentially dead, beneath Parrot Island.

However, this was not meant to be, as Garland proved quite formidable, and took out four Lotus Dragons all by himself. Then, thankfully, the party united itself before the Parrot Island entrapment scenario - allowing them all to participate in it.

All in all, as I said, things went better than I feared they would for the party. My backup plan could have saved things, had the worst case scenario occured, but in the end, having them all together for the Parrot Island dungeon was certainly not something to complain about!

So, all in all, another great session. And thankfully, even the death of Gustave did nothing but add depth and development to his character, as it moved his relationship with Lavinia forward another step. One of many roleplaying developments that I have loved so far in the campaign - which I shall discuss in the DM Thoughts section for the next session.

DM Thoughts: Session 08

The previous week, the party faced one test of their combat abilities: being outnumbered over the course of an extended fight. This week, they faced the opposite challenge: having the numbers greatly on their side, but against a seemingly indestructable foe. It proved to be quite a bit more difficult.

The set-up for this fight was that Lavinia finally had access to her family vault under Castle Teraknian. With the party's assistance, she was now going to enter it and discover whether or not it had already been robbed by her brother.

What the party did not know was that the Lotus Dragons had set up a trap in the form of a deadly mechanical assassin called an Iron Cobra. With a potent venom and incredible defenses, such a creature could easily best a single opponent. If Lavinia had gone alone, she would have had no chance against it. Yet, with their numbers totalling five, the party should have been able to fight off the Cobra without great difficulty. However, their specific class and feat choices had made this fight far worse than could have been expected.

This was largely due to two elements: damage reduction and spell resistance. Coincidentally, both of these are elements that will reappear in the campaign, though much much later. So in a way, this fight was to be a preview of a distant future, where the party would no longer be fighting only humanoids, both easily hit and vulnerable to spells.

And so, with the party make-up, this fight became very tough. Glaive's spells were all but useless against the high spell resistance of the cobra. Crimson did not possess the strength and damage potential to overcome its damage reduction. And both Gustave and Garland needed to get pretty lucky with their damage rolls to have much of a chance, either. Add to that a strength-crippling poison that reduced Gustave's power, and Garland was soon the only hope for victory. Yet, as always, my players' best asset is their brains and knack for unconventional problem-solving, so they came up with a sound plan to use the terrain to their advantage, having the rolling vault door crush the cobra with a well-timed activation. Though suggested nowhere in the adventure, I thought it was smart and effective, and was prepared to allow the plan to work - though an unlucky roll kept it from happening. Yet, in time, the party was able to survive thanks to Garland being risen from unconsciousness a couple of times. And so, a memorable fight served as a definite warning to them, of just how limited their power could be, when pitted against the right enemy. Hopefully they will remember this later on in the campaign, when the use of proper weapons to beat damage reduction could make all the difference in the fight.

DM Thoughts: Session 07

Here we are, finally with some of my thoughts on this session, over a month late...

In fact, the tardiness has become more the rule than the expectation with me these days, as I find that real life has finally caught up to me this year. Not that I am lacking in interest for D&D... no no, quite the opposite. Rather, I find that now for the first time, my ambitions as a DM are being tempered by reality, as the more I wish to do, the less it seems I have actual time to do it. Such has been the case with these DM Thoughts, with session summaries, with my Ahead of the Storm entries... All of these I would love to give their proper attention, but at times I just find that I am too busy with work, with housework, with errands, with visits, etc., to keep up with all the things I would like to do. In what little spare time left to me, I find myself naturally drawn more to relaxing activities such as video games, rather than something more challenging, such as a session write-up.

Yet, to this point, at least the actual game sessions have not suffered. That I can remain fairly confident about - that even if everything I wanted to have prepared for it in terms of online bonuses, or item cards, or 3D models, or NPC pictures - even if many of these things have not been used the way I had hoped, at the very least I still believe the actual game sessions have been up to par with my own expectations for the campaign.

And so, as I finally have a few moments for some catching-up, I start with these DM Thoughts for the past few sessions, in which I can share with you the readers, as well as my players, some of the background on the planning and execution of each adventure.

In this session 07, we finally began the true Savage Tide campaign, as written by its authors. The previous six sessions had been my own spin on things, an introduction both far in the past, and in more recent times. Both sections had gone of splendidly, but now it was time to get serious, and present the actual campaign in the best way I could.

And in this first "real" session of the campaign, taking place three months after the wedding, the central event was the matter of gaining access to a Seeker Ring somewhere on the Blue Nixie. As first battles of campaigns go, this one was quite large-scale indeed - a multi-stage fight between the party and several waves of enemies, in addition to a scary new monster, and a tricky boss. All of this on a complex battlefield with multiple levels. Such a fight is to be expected with higher-level characters, but at level one, without any prior warm-up of any kind? Quite the proposition, indeed.

The way I decided to play it was by using the poster map provided by the magazines - the one of the Sea Wyvern. Not the same ship, to be true, but similar enough - and having already completed a 3D model of a ship for use as the sailing vessels later in the campaign, this poster map would have otherwise gone to waste - so I wanted to use it here, so I could at least have it be good for something.

As for the fight itself, it went off about as well as could be expected: a challenge, but one that did not claim any lives so soon in the campaign. Such good fortune largely depended on the smart tactics of the party, as a bad plan could provoke a TPK (total party kill), while a good plan could make for a rather easy fight, despite the large odds. In my case, I've always been blessed with a smarter-than-most party, so I expected a good plan, and got one. Using a diversion, a bit of darkness, and some good cooperation, the guys pulled out a sound victory. Things were off to a good start.

Also, as Chris mentioned in his player's thoughts entry for this session, it was nice to have a chance to see our characters in action for the first time. The previous two sessions of role-playing had set up the characters' personalities quite well, but we still hadn't had a chance to really test their abilities and get to know that side of them - so a big fight like this was a good way to "scratch that itch", so to speak.

Sadly, the real test was yet to come, however - as the second major fight came the following week, and proved a far greater challenge...

Summary 09: Betrayal on Parrot Island

It is very cold, in space. I found myself foaling as if weightless within a void of emptiness. Never in my very life have I experienced such a place. At that moment, it had become quite clear that death has taken me, prematurely I may add. As I awaited my final judgment, a light, a very feint one, could be seen in the far off distance. A sign perhaps, there was nothing else to attract my attention. With a mere thought, I propelled myself towards the anomaly at great speed. In a matter of seconds, the light became far too bright for my eyes to endure, forcing them to shut. Shortly thereafter, my entire body began to quiver in pain, but only for a mere second or two. All of a sudden, the chill had left my body. I opened my eyes and there she was, standing over me within the light. I turned my head to face her and smiled. I reached out, placing my hand upon her face. So soft, warm and yet, it felt so very real. I softly stroked her cheek from side to side with my thumb and spoke out to her…

Gustave (smiling): Am I in the presence of an angel? Yes… this must be heaven. It is exactly as I had imagined it, Lavinia.

Lavinia replied with a smile of her own, placing her hand atop of mine and closed her eyes while shedding several tears. She paused a few seconds in order to savor our little passionate moment, and then, spoke out to me…

Lavinia (smiling): Gustave, this is not heaven. You… died; I had you brought back to life. You were so brave; you gave us all a chance to… I couldn’t just let you… I need you… by my side.

I slowly assumed the sitting position in order to assess the situation I found myself in. The light fooling my eyes had faded away, revealing a familiar chamber within the Fharlanghn temple. I began to feel great pain with my neck and left arm, both of them strapped in bandages. The cleric there then proceeded to heal my wounds and insisted that I lay back down to get some rest. I complied and shitted my attention to Lavinia. There she stood, still smiling, still crying, this was indeed no dream. I sensed much regret and sadness within her, but also relief and… great joy. It then came to my attention that she sacrificed her father’s sword in order to grant me a second chance. She made it quite clear that she wouldn’t have it any other way.

I grew tired of the temple’s scenery and insisted upon taking my leave. The young cleric reluctantly agreed and granted me her blessing. After a few words with the one who performed the service, Lavinia and I made our way to the Vanderboren Estate. Lavinia ordered me to my assigned bedchambers in order to get some rest. She pulled up a chair and remained by my side; well, at least until I no longer had the strength to remain awake that is. Until then, we talked about many things. We began by discussing the events that took place before my untimely demise.

Where to begin. Lavinia was cooped up in her room in deep study and I was in the next room sampling some of Vanthus’ literature; a book about the art of lock picking I believe. I then received message that Crimson was down below, requesting an audience with yours truly. It would seem that she had made significant progress in infiltrating the Lotus Dragons through this Max fellow, Gildenstern’s best friend. She informed me of a plan that she had concocted. Max and Crimson, Lavinia and myself, a double date, at Parrot Island, in one hour, to shoot some birds. And apparently during the shooting of these… birds, the seamen would be in charge of gathering evidence at Max’s dwelling. The plan had potential, but I was under the impression that Crimson wasn’t being totally honest with me. My fears were confirmed shortly thereafter as she freely admitted that she had an ace up her sleeve. “Trust me” she said, lovely. I informed Lavinia of the scheme, and we both reluctantly agreed. This was hardly the kind of date I’d treat a lady to, but it was our best lead to get closer to Vanthus. Again, as a precaution, I was handed Verik’s Rapier and a Short Bow.

The two happy couples met an hour later in front of the manor and we slowly made our way north towards Parrot Island. All was going well until Crimson unleashed what I suspected to be the whole “Trust me” thing. Crimson had forgotten her shurikens, at Max’s, the place where the seamen were undoubtedly prying though his unmentionables, or perhaps setting an ambush. Crimson convinced us all that we make our way to the Shadowshore district in order to fetch them. Upon arrival, an unexpected turn of events. Immerging from the building was a familiar face, hoisted upon his shoulder, another familiar face in a comatose state. Upon spotting us, Garland quickly made haste to the nearest temple, no doubt. Max and Crimson took the opportunity to give chase, but to no avail. In the mean time, Lavinia and I made our way to the building’s entrance to see what we’ve gotten ourselves into. As we feared, the entrance was stained in the blood of what looked to be four very dead Lotus Dragons. Lavinia nearly collapsed then and there. I quickly closed the door to conceal the horrific image and rushed Lavinia to a nearby bench. Off in the distance, Max and Crimson could be seen, slowly making there way back, with rage in their eyes. I was not at all looking forward to… “Phase Two”. Max opened the door only to find several of his good friends… slaughtered. You could say that I sensed much anger from the young lad as he entered the building. At that moment, Crimson signaled that I follow her in. I told Lavinia that I’d be back shortly. “Please be careful… Gustave”, she whispered. I made a promise to honor that request and was rewarded with a smile. Upon entering the establishment, Max began to curse the Dawn Council and their actions. Crimson aided in authenticating the later and added that the Lotus Dragons should not tolerate such hostility. “Thankfully, we have Gustave by our side, that is, if you’ll have him”, she said. That statement startled Max and nearly startled me as well. Fortunately for you, my dear… Crimson, I AM A VERY… DIFFICULT… MAN… TO READ. Even though I was consumed in fear, anger and betrayal, I was still able to put on quite a performance. Max was quite impressed with my ability to manipulate the Vanderboren wench. The perfect ploy. The Dragons wanted her dead and what better way to prove myself to them by performing the deed. Max handed me a contraption that would render Lavinia unconscious. “One blow to the head ought to do…”, he said. “Once the deed is done, we shall bring her to Vanthus on Parrot Island. There you shall be rewarded and with any luck, you shall be given your first assignment”. We shook hands on the matter, both with a sinister grin. Upon a quick evaluation, a confrontation would clearly result in my death. If it were up to me, I’d have that vile hand severed, along with his head. I slowly made my way back to Lavinia and took position behind her. In order to soften the blow, I initiated a soothing backrub while quietly relaying the course of action that had to be taken. I delayed as long as could for I couldn’t bring myself to do it. After a moment Crimson exited the building, gave me a look and prepared herself to do the deed in my place. Lavinia spoke out to me, “Gustave, I need YOU to do this, please, make it swift…”. Not one but two strikes were required as I brought her to the very edge of unconsciousness. Never in my life have I ever had to hide so much pain.

The story came to a sudden pause as my emotions had gotten the best of me. I shifted my gaze towards Lavinia as she sat there, still smiling. I reached out to the wound I had given her only to still feel its presence. Unable to hide my pain to the one I cherished most in this world, I failed to contain several tears.

Gustave (ashamed): Lavinia… I…

Lavinia (smiling): Please, say no more, it had to be done, they… I left you no choice. I’m just glad the deed came at your own hand. You were… so gentle. It looks like your memory is well intact, this makes me… happy, please continue.

I watched over Lavinia while the other two cleaned up the mess down below. Later that eve, the time came to make our way to Parrot Island. I insisted that I carry the limp body. We managed to arrive at our destination unnoticed. Max led us to bush, a bush concealing a hidden passage way. He disabled several locks, opened the hatch and began to make his way down. Upon his arrival, he illuminated the room down below and signaled us to follow. Just as I was contemplating how I was going to get down a sixty foot ladder without falling or dropping my dearly beloved, the tree next to me was the target of a vicious magical attack. Off in the distance, I had spotted the tree’s aggressor; it was Glaive waiving a flag of truce. Crimson informed Max that her assailants had arrived while signaling the two to storm the hatch. They gave me quite the look upon their arrival as I directed a similar look at Crimson. She replied with an innocent smile upon her face. “Don’t you two start with me…”, I said. I then shifted my gaze towards Garland and convinced him to take Lavinia down safely. I followed closely and Glaive was the last one to make the decent. Little did we know, we had just walked into a trap. A voice could be heard from above as two figures made themselves noticed.

Vanthus: Well done Max, well done indeed. You were a good man, tis a shame to have to let you go.

Anzak: Hey, Gustave, no hard feelings eh.

Gustave: GUILDENSTERN…

Again the story came to a pause as Lavinia began to stir ever so slightly, she then urged me to continue.

The hatch slammed shut. By the time Garland reached the hatch, he had realized that the hatch had been sealed, probably with the aid of a large bolder of sorts. We were trapped and poor little Max was literally stuck between a rock and a hard place. I had Lavinia brought back to full heath with the aid of a wand as now five sets of eyes shifted their gaze upon Max could do nothing but soil his undergarments. Luckily for him, we opted to keep him alive, for the moment. He knew the location to several Lotus Dragon safe houses and promised to spill a few beans if he left this place alive. Apparently, the next item on the agenda was the matter of reward. Glaive demanded that Garland, himself and Crimson be awarded an increase in pay for their troubles. “Pull it out of Gustave’s pay if you must, I’m sure he won’t mind”, he said. Lavinia would have none of it, she blatantly refused while feeding upon the anger she felt at the mention of Anzak’s recent betrayal. I took the opportunity to speak out “Why don’t we get you out of here alive before we discuss payment shall we”. A corridor stood before me as I made my approach. I scanned the area in an attempt to locate any traps. I shifted my gaze to the right only to find Garland standing next to me aiding me in my attempts. I replied with a nod as we ventured a little further. The others opted to stay behind until we deemed the room safe. Two doors within this room, one to the north and one to the west. Both emitting a fowl odor and haunted by voices of the dead. Scratching on the door could be heard soon thereafter as we all took a defensive stance. I stood in front of the door, Garland behind me reaching in with his harpoon, Glaive readying his magics, Crimson aiding in my defense, Max cowering in the corner and Lavinia out of harms way. My role was simple; keep the creatures from escaping so that the others may unleash their fury. I opened the door and was faced with two Zombielike monstrosities and another right behind them. I was quick to react and delivered a significant wound upon the one in front of me, only to watch the gash close up completely before my very eyes. The two in front of me desperately attempted to grab me but to no avail, the one on the left nearly got me but Crimson kept him at bay. Out of nowhere, a harpoon came to bear, just missing its target followed by a magic missile that seemed to have annoyed the creature. I called out to Max for aid but refused to perform an act of bravery. I swung again failing to pierce anything. The one on the left saw an opening and removed a small portion of my left shoulder, the pain was excruciating. Another missile and a lethal harpoon blow followed, putting an end to the one who injured me leaving two fresh to contend with. Lavinia quickly made her way behind in an attempt to aid in my defense, as did Crimson. Max tossed his sword for me to use. I had to act; my weapon was useless, the Long Sword was unreachable and Lavinia was right behind me. Retrieving the sword would have placed both Lavinia and Crimson in grave danger. I had decided to remain at my post and attempted to utilize the healing wand. Unfortunately, it failed to activate. All of a sudden, I felt a tug to the left, a tug to the right; I was lifted clear off the floor…

Gustave: …I… I’m sorry, that’s all I can remember.

Lavinia (crying softly): You… died… shortly thereafter…

Gustave (smiling): Well, I like to think that this particular story has a happy ending. Here I am sharing this moment with you. Please tell me, how did this miracle come to be?

Garland took Gustave’s place upon the battlefield and with Glaive’s help, one of the remaining creature sustained heavy damage. Gustave was still very much alive but was still occupying a threatened area, so Crimson and I began to aid in Garland’s defense. I could do nothing but watch Gustave slowly to bleed to death and then, the unthinkable. First, one of the creatures lashed out at Gustave’s left arm nearly killing him, and then… GARLAND… He carelessly swung his harpoon and lost his grip, it fell, and impaled Gustave in the chest. I screamed out to him, desperately trying to find a pulse, but there was none. He was so… cold.

Lavinia (crying softly): …I believe I passed out after that. When I awoke, I had opted to stay by your side. The others told me roughly what had happened after that, but I’m sure those facts are inaccurate, I… I’m sorry.

Gustave: I know what you are thinking. Please, do not blame Garland for what happened, I’m sure he feels bad enough already. I put myself in that position and I’d do it again, save the dying part of course. Yawn.

Lavinia (smiling): Oh Gustave, you look absolutely exhausted. Please try to get some sleep.

Gustave: Yawn, you may be right, but first, the conclusion.

Apparently there were a dozen more of these Zombielike creatures to be disposed of. And a half dozen man eating crabs, also easily disposed of and consumed for dinner. They were kind enough to offer me a bite to eat but I was not hungry. Gustave was no where in sight, but they generously told me where I could find him. “Just follow the stench”, Max said. I should have them all hung by the balls, pardon my language. I rested next to him and patiently awaited the others to find a way out; they found that quite convenient actually. If I were to die in this place, this is where I would want to be. They mentioned something about water filled tunnels, littered with thousands of poisonous sea urchins. Apparently they managed to reach the tunnel’s end with ease thanks to a couple make shift rafts (doors). Upon reaching land, they were attacked by a much larger, more ferocious, magic wielding Zombielike creature. Instilling fear in all who challenged him and dragging others into the depths of the sea urchin infested waters. Oh and get this, it had tentacles, and they were contaminated with a flesh eating disease. But worry not, the creature was disposed of just like the others, they simply fed Max to the creature as a distraction. They found a journal entry, it would seem that Anzak and my brother can be found somewhere in the Sunrise district. They also found three chests, one of them containing a gem with the power to summon a creature made of stone. One powerful enough to clear the path we came though in the first place. They say the other chests are empty, well, at this point, I couldn’t care less.

Lavinia (smiling): The only thing that matters right now is that we… Oh, fast asleep… Good night… Gustave.